Stoneleigh-Burnham School is the result of the merger of five girls’ schools, dating back to 1869 with the Prospect Hill School of Greenfield, Massachusetts. Our mission then was “to prepare girls for the rigors of a college education.” Today our focus remains the same.
Our alumnae total over 7,000 women across the world, women who continue to pave the way for today’s students in the fields of academia, government, science, finance, professional sports and the arts.
Our timeline:
- 1869 Prospect Hill School is founded in Greenfield, Massachusetts by Reverend John Farwell Moors.
- 1877 The Classical School for Girls is founded in Northampton, Massachusetts by Bessie Talbot Capen and Mary A. Burnham. The founders are encouraged by then President of Smith College, Laurenus Clarke Seelye to provide young women with a better preparation for entrance into Smith College.
- 1885 The Classical School for Girls is renamed the Mary A. Burnham School, in honor of founder Mary A. Burnham.
- 1909 The Elmhurst School is founded in Connersville, Indiana by Isabel Cressler and Carloline Sumner, also at the urging of Laurenus Clarke Seelye.
- 1926 Elmhurst School relocates to a larger campus in Rye, New Hampshire and is renamed the Stoneleigh School for Girls.
- 1930 The Stoneleigh School for Girls merges with Prospect Hill School forming Stoneleigh-Prospect Hill School on what is today the Stoneleigh-Burnham School campus.
- 1968 Stoneleigh-Prospect Hill merges with the Mary A. Burnham School to form Stoneleigh-Burnham School.